FAA shutdown won’t slow Savannah airport flights, construction

The partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration will affect neither flights nor the major construction project currently under way at Savannah/Hilton Head International, airport director Patrick Graham said Tuesday.

The expiration of congressional funding for the federal agency has furloughed non-essential FAA employees and shut down FAA-funded construction projects at airports around the country, including Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International.

But Savannah’s massive North Aviation Development, a project that includes a tract leased to Gulfstream Aerospace for its latest expansion, remains on schedule, funded for now with airport cash reserves.

Savannah-based Gulfstream last November announced a $500 million, seven-year expansion plan that is expected to result in 1,000 new jobs. As part of that expansion, the company will build new facilities in the northwest quadrant of the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport property and renovate several existing facilities on its main campus off Gulfstream Road.

In addition to Gulfstream’s need to expand its facilities, the airport is responding to continued demand for maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities, as well as hangar space, Graham has said.

In March, the airport commission approved a $24 million contract with McLendon Enterprises Inc. of Vidalia for improvements to 280 acres north of the existing airfield, including the property leased to Gulfstream. Total project costs - including design, mitigation, construction and construction service - are projected at $28.5 million.

As with most U.S. airport construction projects, the majority of the costs were to come from the FAA in the form of passenger fees and taxes that are held in trust by the FAA and disbursed to the airport for approved projects.

While Savannah/Hilton Head will eventually get FAA entitlement funds already designated for the project, the airport has enough cash reserves to continue work until the shutdown is resolved, Graham said.

“We know we are due $4 million for this year and another $4 million next year,” he said. “That money will come in eventually.

“We’re also in line for another $8 million in discretionary funds over the next two years. Those funds aren’t guaranteed, though, so there is a possibility we may not get all of that money.

“But, even if none of the discretionary money comes through, we have sufficient funds to cover the project.”

Unlike Atlanta, where more than 300 non-essential employees were furloughed, no one in Savannah was sent home, Graham said.

“All of Savannah’s FAA employees work in the control tower, necessary positions that cannot be cut,” he said.